The Pakistani Spectator

Would you please tell us something about you and your site?
I am a Sri Lankan who has studied and worked in the first world (developed).
My blog is called Cerno, which is Latin for Latin for “to perceive, to separate, sift, distinguish /decide, resolve, determine”. I started it in early 2007 and I have been able to keep going at roughly 3 posts a week. The best way to describe the content is that it covers a wide variety of topics. From Sri Lankan aviation to contemporary graphic design in Sri Lanka. I consciously try to avoid blogging on overtly political topics. Mainly because there is plenty of people doing it and I want to differentiate myself from the noise. I also prefer to focus on the human angle of consequences of politics. On the whole my blog is an outlet for the odd ideas that sprout in my mind. By writing I don’t have to bother with them running around in my head. Essentially my blog helps keeps me sane.

Do you feel that you continue to grow in your writing the longer you write? Why is that important to you?
I think so. Practice anything for long enough and you’ll get better at it. Personally I realise that I have become more perceptive of things that I would not have noticed before. It also keeps me from being bored. I can easily entertain myself by dreaming up a blog post.

I’m wondering what some of your memorable experiences are with blogging?
Discovering the joy of writing. That it is a fun process. Another is the sheer relief of getting thoughts ideas running around my mind out of my head and into words where they cannot nag me any more.

What do you do in order to keep up your communication with other bloggers?
Respond to their comments on my blog as fast as possible. Most of my blogging is done on the go in short snatches of time. So I actually don’t get much time to read other blogs a lot. I do try to when I get a chance and leave comments on their blog. I also write post relating to something they have which is a sort of a disembodied conversation.

What do you think is the most exciting or most innovative use of technology in politics right now?
Despite the achievements of the Obama campaign I think, its success is that it had ideas to offer people. The technology aka the web was merely the tool of spreading the ideas effectively. The technology was always there waiting for the an idea to use it. The first time this occurs it is called “innovative”. To that end I think the technology is no that excite. What I find truly exciting are idea that help people to live together positively with hate or fear.

Do you think that these new technologies are effective in making people more responsive?
No. Unless Responsiveness measured by how fast anyone can type yet another dumb comment to a news item. The important thing is the quality and consequences of the response. The ability to summon a murderous mob by SMS doesn’t make society any better. Only worse. But if people with good ideas learn to spread their ideas to a broader audience I think the responsive capabilities of ICT would be effective.

What do you think sets Your site apart from others?
The type of topics I write about and my writing style. Posts using google earth images to talk about places often heard about in the news seem to be quite unique al least for Sri Lankan blogs.

If you could choose one characteristic you have that brought you success in life, what would it be?
Using humour to make something positive out of negative situations.

What was the happiest and gloomiest moment of your life?
Hard to say. I prefer to balance the negatives of any experience with its positives.

If you could pick a travel destination, anywhere in the world, with no worries about how it is paid for - what would your top 3 choices be?
Iceland
Bhutan
Mongolia
No idea why but I have always been fascinated by these places as a child.

What is your favourite book and why?
Moth Smoke by Mosin Hamid who incidentally a Pakistani writer. I thought he beautifully and accurately captured the sensation of growing up in the third world. Seen through a third worlder who has live in the “developed” world.

What’s the first thing you notice about a person (whether you know them or not)?
Their attitude in terms of how they respond to other people.
Usually appearances don’t give the whole picture.

Is there anyone from your past that once told you couldn’t write?
Me. Everyone else in my family was very supportive.

How bloggers can benefit from blogs financially?
Properly used, a blog can be used to enhance/market a person’s professional capabilities. This can lead into better financial returns if properly managed was a tool in professional life. On the long term I think it brings more sustained financial benefits than revenue from ads (which was all the rage the last two years).Sitepoint.com has a interesting post on it called Blogging Can Make You Money, Even if Your Blog Doesn’t http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/02/12/blogging-can-make-you-money-even-if-your-blog-doesnt/

Is it true that who has a successful blog has an awful lot of time on their hands?
I don’t think so. Having a lot of time doesn’t necessary translate into good content that attracts and retains a regular readership. Assuming that is the definition of a “successful”blog. On the whole I think that such “success” would be a function of how available time is used.

What role can bloggers of the world play to make this world more friendlier and less hostile?
I think finding a balance between being honest and objective without being vindictive with their words is a key factor. Another is looking at how you write about others as a long term interaction. Overall, I don’t think online behaviour let alone blogging will have much impact on making the world more or less hostile.

Who are your top five favourite bloggers?
Personal blog of Indrajith Samarajiva, Sri Lankan “bloging pioneer”
http://indi.ca
London, Lanka and drums: http://londonlanka.blogspot.com
Black Light Arrow: http://blacklightarrow.wordpress.com blog of David Blacker, author, adman and the only know member in the Sri Lankan blogosphere to have fought in the Sri Lankan Army
The Lone Ranger: http://sf-3.blogspot.com/ Well written anaysis of the military situation in Sri Lanka
Court Jester writes on a variety of stuff and is interesting hard to pin down http://jestforkicks.blogspot.com/

Is there one observation or column or post that has gotten the most powerful reaction from people?
The only one that sticks to mind is the post I wrote about a Sri Lankan newspaper printing one of my blog posts without my permission while making it seem I was a staff writer. In my post I also pointed out other similarly “stolen” blog post by other writers. It caused quite a bit of heated discussion-both on my blog and on others. The whole issue was amplified by the fact that the newspaper editor was less than mature in his responses. http://cerno.wordpress.com/2007/07/09/lakbima-prints-cernos-post-without-asking/#comment-699

What is your perception about Pakistan and its people?
I have never visited Pakistan. My perception is coloured by the news (which rarely ever covers good news) and what I have read of its history. I think there isn’t anything comparable in Sri Lanka to the challenges ordinary Pakistanis face in their daily lives. History and geography have dealt a tough hand and it takes a determined people to carry on regardless. Despite all their toughness it that been very touching to read the many letters and posts Pakistanis have written after the attack on the SL cricket team. That’s a positive side of Pakistanis that the tragedy obsessed news rarely focuses on.

Have you ever become stunned by the uniqueness of any blogger?
I think I have but paradoxically I cannot think of any particular instances. Most likely it is a thrill of finding another good writer to read.

What is the most striking difference between a developed country and a developing country?
Overall I think the key difference lies in the hope and opportunity that people see in the developed world. Ressession or otherwise. A more concreate difference would be the quality of level of access to services. Example the reliability of utilities such as electricity. The ease of acquiring services such as health care housing. I think the gap is not as wide as people think but it boils down to the fact that a slum in the first world is marginally better than in the third world.

What is the future of bloggworld.
Thankfully blogging is no longer the hippest hottest thing around. The people who have something to say will use it well and benefit from it. I think blogging will continue to get integrated with other media (video etc). No doubt ways of distributing blog content will improve. Eventually it will evolve into something else.

You have also got a blogging life, how has it directly affected both your personal and professional life?
Very few people who know me personally know about my blog. I do most of my writing off-line on a PDA. As a result blogging hasn’t taken up a lot of my time. I don’t blog from work or about work so it hasn’t had a visible impact on me professionally. The only thing I have noticed is that I’m more sensitive to spotting “stories” in day to day situations. The blog posts that result from these tend to get the strongest reactions.

What are your future plans?
Blogwise I guess I’ll keep on writing as I am doing now. No plans for commercialising the blog , etc.

Any Message you want to give to the readers of The Pakistani Spectator?
Like to say hello from the Sri Lankan blogosphere. A lot of Sri Lankans are quite touched by the posts and letters written by many Pakistanis wrote following the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team. We certainly don’t equate a minority of terrorists to the vast number of Pakistanis who are going through a particularly rough patch in history. As crazy as it sounds right now, I hope both our countries will find peace to the point where we can all blog on duller topics.